Kozmotis withheld a sigh of boredom as he listened to the chattering reports of his Fearlings about the amount of fear they spread, how many children were spared a terrible fate, how many had not, how many had faced their fear and become braver, etc, etcetera. It was this part of the job that Kozmotis could really do without, the endless reports paired with a lack of action was very maddening.
"Kozzie, can you come here for a moment?"
Kozmotis stood up abruptly as he waved away the rest of the Fearlings shuffling impatiently to give their reports. "Later, later. We can resume this tomorrow… or never." Kozmotis grumbled the last part to himself as he walked down the hallways where he could hear Merith humming tunelessly. Kozmotis reached the room just to watch Merith through the partially opened door as he fiddled with various pieces of furniture, absentmindedly rubbing his slightly protruding belly. Merith was five months along now, looking more radiant than ever in Kozmotis' opinion, no matter his partner's complaints of stretch marks and swollen feet.
"Kozzie!"
"Yes beloved? You called?" Kozmotis said as he entered from where he was lurking in the doorframe, gently tugging the pregnant man into his arms and into a back hug just so he could rest his chin on Merith's head. Merith huffed in faux irritation at being made into a head rest, but snuggled deeper into the comforting hold nonetheless.
"So, I can't settle with what colors and theme to make the nursery and it's been driving me spare. Have any ideas?"
"Hmm, I think I have a perfect idea." The taller man looked around at the nursery for a moment, before he seemed to come to a decision. "I rather think gray will be wonderful for our little one." Kozmotis said with a hidden smirk.
Silence.
"Of course, we could always do varying shades of gray, maybe even a black accent to break up the monotony of it, it should come out rather lovely." Kozmotis continued on, curious of how long his husband would keep his silence.
"...Kozzie,"
"You are right. How silly of me, we should do an all black room to fully mimic the feel of a shadowy void, make them feel like they are floating in a void of empty space, secure in the drifting darkness."
"Kozmotis Pitchiner Black, you better be joking or I swear…" Merith threatened as he turned in the older spirit's arms, only to stop and sigh in exasperation at the teasing smirk on his lover's face.
"Of course I am joking beloved, I would never let our little one be stuck in the darkness. Unless that is what their inner core requires of course, but that won't be until they are much older. I want our child to forever know that they are surrounded by all the love and care that we can provide them from the moment they are in our arms."
Merith just smiled in fond exasperation as he tilted his head against Koz's shoulder, silently asking for a forehead kiss which was immediately given to him. "I love you so much, you dork. But you're right, if they do develop some sort of inclination to shadows in their core, it won't be until much later, so we need a nice theme now while they are young. What do you think would be a good fit?"
"I think…animals would be a good idea." Kozmotis eventually said.
"Animals?"
"Yes. I remember when you first started telling me about your former life, you told me about all the interesting creatures you encountered at that magic school of yours. Some of the nicer ones, like the horned horse or the gold digging one sounded interesting. Or a dragon like Soreth and Talath, except cuter." explained Kozmotis as he began to gently sway back and forth, ignoring the muffled hiss from below Merith's robes at the slight against the pygmy dragons.
"Soreth and Talath are very cute, thank you very much." Merith mock-gasped, although he was grinning too hard to be completely believable. "But I like the idea, having nifflers and unicorns, maybe just a nicer version of the forest by my school then?"
Merith waved his hands towards the walls, his ring lighting up as the walls began changing color, lightening and darkening almost randomly until an image began to form and Kozmotis let out a soft breath of amazement.
Before him lay an image of a wide clearing surrounded by trees with various magical creatures, curious threstals peeking their head out shyly from the trees while golden unicorn foals gamboled boldly across the clearing. In the near distance, Kozmotis could see a sparkling blue lake, with the playful figures of merpeople leaping in and out of the water, cheerfully waving at Merith and Kozmotis before resuming their play. Near the ceiling a variety of colorful dragons, hippogriffs, and even a phoenix darted through the air as if playing with the wind.
It was a beautiful and whimsical sight that brought Kozmotis to tears. It was perfect and just reminded Kozmotis all over again of the wonderful gift that his other half was giving him.
"Kozzie? What's wrong? How are you feeling, baby?"
Kozmotis turned golden eyes down towards his partner, who had turned partially in his arms and looked up at him in concern, hand raised to wipe the tears running down the infamous Boogeyman's face.
"I- I am just- so grateful. That I can have all of this despite the darkness within me. To have such a loving partner, the other half of my soul that I somehow haven't scared away. That we have a miracle coming, a child that will surely be as sweet as their bearer and so, so loved by us. Thank you, Merith"
"Koz, my other half. You could never scare me away, no matter how many Fearlings surround you. And this child, our child, is going to be in the safest hands in the world, because they are your hands. Hands made to protect, to nurture, and I am so thankful that we managed to get past our first introductions of each other, that we were able to look past and truly see each other. I love you." Merith murmured, wrapping one hand around Kozmotis' shoulder while the other slowly dragged his lover's arm to rest on his protruding belly. They both quietly enjoyed each other's presence, and the knowledge that soon, their little miracle would be held in their arms as they swayed together in the nursery.